NAFTA negotiators part for holidays; prepare for pressure-laden talks in 2018
WASHINGTON — NAFTA negotiators parted ways for the holidays without completing any chapters Friday, preparing to reconvene in the new year for what could be a pressure-cooker period of bargaining through early 2018.
Canadian, Mexican and American negotiators left a week’s worth of discussions in Washington without any agreements to announce, citing only incremental progress in scaling the tall challenges ahead.
Those challenges include new statistics showing business anxiety over NAFTA; repeated threats from President Donald Trump to begin withdrawing the U.S. from the agreement; and the constraints of the political clock.
The current schedule for negotiations concludes in March and it’s uncertain what happens afterwards: Mexico and the U.S. will be embroiled in national election campaigns, for the presidency in Mexico and the Congress in the U.S.